Paul Richter
With his performance as the mythological hero Siegfried, Richter’s status in German cinema was elevated to the level of sex symbol superstar. Siegfried transformed Richter into Germany’s answer to Valentino as the hottest thing going in silent cinema. Ironic, somewhat, considering that the biggest argument Richter had with director Fritz Lang was over posing nude for a scene that Lang felt was essential for revealing brute strength of Siegfried’s body.
Margarete Schön
Margarete Schön takes over the story in Part II: Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge. After appearing in a dozen films in two years, she gained international recognition with her performance as the vengeful lover of Siegfried. Her status as a leading women suffered with the coming of the Nazis as her disdain for appearing in propaganda films reduced her to a supporting character actress. Nevertheless, she did manage to survive both the Nazi era and the communist-controlled cinema of East Germany following the war.
Hanna Ralph
Briefly married to one of German cinema’s most famous actors, Emil Jannings, Hanna Ralph enjoyed a long and successful career during the silent era. The collision of the sound era with the rise of the Nazis brought on an early retirement. Following the end of World War II, Ralph came out of retirement briefly to make two films and then retired from acting for good.
Hans Adalbert Schlettow
Notably primarily for being a staunch supporter of Nazi ideals—including a deep-seated anti-Semitism—Schlettow’s life ended like something out of a movie: a faceless soldier killed on the battlefield defending his indefensible ideology.
Theodor Loos
Blessed with an expressive voice as well as expressive eyes, Loos thrived in both the silent and sound eras. His involvement in propaganda films and his position on the Advisory Board of the Nazi department to which actors had to belong in order to work during the regime brought about lull in his career following the war.
Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Most famous for another set of films directed Fritz Lang: he was the sinister title character in Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler and its sequel, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of his appearing in films directed by Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou is that Klein-Rogge was at one time married to Von Harbou who was having an affair with Lang before divorcing the actor and marrying the director.
